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When Ohio Township and state police were summoned to investigate a disabled vehicle on the Camp Horne Road off-ramp of Interstate 279 North on Sunday morning, they believed a crime had been committed.

"There was a lot of blood in the vehicle," said Trooper Robin Mungo. "We treated it as a crime scene."

Police were unsure at first what caused the death of 34-year-old John Yuhas of Bellevue, who was found slumped over in the passenger seat of his red sedan on the berm of the exit ramp.

A motorist who twice passed the vehicle with its back-up lights on grew concerned enough to notify police at 9:33 a.m. Sunday.

Police closed the ramp for much of Sunday, taking photographs, measurements and marking bits of possible evidence with tags. When forensic investigators from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office arrived shortly after noon, police and officials were able to move Mr. Yuhas from the vehicle and inspect his wounds.

It was then that they discovered what appeared to be a surgical wound on Mr. Yuhas' right forearm that had reopened and bled profusely, Trooper Mungo said.

"It was clear that his wound was open," she said. "It was a very big wound."

It was not clear what type of surgery Mr. Yuhas had, or when, but Trooper Mungo said it appeared the gaping wound had been untreated for some time.

When police contacted Mr. Yuhas' family, they discovered that Mr. Yuhas had phoned a loved one, saying that his sutures had split and he was on his way to get help when he collapsed in the vehicle.

"He knew he was in trouble," Trooper Mungo said. "He was on his way to the hospital."

Janice Crompton: jcrompton@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1159. First Published March 16, 2014 10:32 AM